Bolivia medical volunteers receive a "Gracias" from the Cochabamba community

Medical volunteers in Bolivia, at the same time as doing their main work at the Burns Unit of Viedma Hospital and the Centro de Salud Sarcobamba, have taken part in important community projects. These have included vaccination programmes and dental hygiene campaigns.

The vaccination campaign was organised by the Head Doctor at the Centro de Salud Sarcobamba who passed a huge "Gracias" to Projects Abroad for providing her and her staff with "caring and dedicated volunteers." The volunteers helped the local medical staff to vaccinate over 600 school children against Yellow Fever and Tetanus in schools in and around Cochabamba, where the Projects Abroad office is based.

Medical volunteers have the opportunity to gain experience in a wide variety of areas, including physiotherapy, nursing and assisting with surgery at the Burns Unit, as well as paediatrics, gynaecology and pharmaceutics at the Centro de Salud Sarcobamba. Working on the medical projects can be challenging and emotional at times, but the medical staff appreciate the volunteers' help, and medicine in Bolivia is one of the most rewarding projects in which to get involved.

Current medical volunteer, Kyle Saggers from Australia, says "Bolivia is incredible. I can safely say I have never been this happy in my entire life. This is an awesome experience and when I get home I will be recommending it to all of my friends." Kyle has decided to extend his stay in Bolivia to continue his medical placement.

If like Kyle you would like to work on one of the medical projects in Bolivia or help in an orphanage or school, take a look at our Destination Bolivia page.